Beautiful Disaster
by Mahone-chic-89
Summary: The Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins original teams have retired but now their children have risen up to take their places. Old rivalries flare up as young love begins to emerge between the old rivals' children. See inside for full summary!
1. Summary and Intro

**NOTE: This is the 3****rd**** installment in a series. The first story is "Against All Odds" and the second is "Breakaway." If you haven't read the other two I encourage you to do so although you may be able to still follow along with this story regardless. **

**Full Summary:**

The Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins teams have long since retired and moved on with their lives, but now their children have risen up to take their places. As the Washington Capitals revamp their team completely there are high hopes that a brand new all-star team is emerging once again. However, at the same time, old rivals rear their ugly head. Although Sidney Crosby has also retired, his son has stolen the spotlight in the NHL as the new captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kristine Alvarez and Mike Green's daughter is the captain of the revamped Capitals team. When she meets the young, edgy captain, old rivalries resurface and tempers flare. As history threatens to repeat itself, young love blossoms and all-stars rise to an even larger stage than their predecessors. Are the Capitals and Penguins doomed to continue their long, bitter rivalry or will the feud finally come to a peaceful end with the daughter of Mike and Kristine and the son of Sidney Crosby?

**Washington Capitals Roster (of players specifically mentioned in this story):**

Samantha Alvarez – Captain; daughter of Kristine and Mike Green

Adrian Backstrom – alternate captain; son of Nicklas Backstrom

Alex Ovechkin II (a.k.a. Sanja) – alternate captain; son of Alexander Ovechkin

Nikolai Semin – forward; son of Alexander Semin

Nathan Bradley – forward; son of Matt Bradley

Anthony Perreault – forward; son of Mathieu Perreault

Victor Varlamov – goalie; son of Semyon Varlamov

**Pittsburgh Penguins Roster (of players specifically mentioned in this story):**

Brayden Crosby – captain; son of Sidney Crosby

Alik Malkin – alternate captain; son of Evengi Malkin

Andrew Cooke – alternate captain; son of Matt Cooke

Jacob Dupuis – forward, son of Pascal Dupuis

Michael Staal –forward; son of Jordan Staal

Landon Fleury – goalie; son of Mark-Andre Fleury

**Title of the story comes from a song by Kelly Clarkson. The lyrics are VERY applicable for this story too!**

_He drowns in his dreams__  
__An exquisite extreme I know__  
__He's as damned as he seems__  
__And more heaven than a heart could hold__  
__And if I try to save him__  
__My whole world could cave in__  
__It just ain't right__  
__It just ain't right___

_Oh and I don't know__  
__I don't know what he's after__  
__But he's so beautiful__  
__Such a beautiful disaster__  
__And if I could hold on__  
__Through the tears and the laughter__  
__Would it be beautiful?__  
__Or just a beautiful disaster___

_He's magic and myth__  
__As strong as what I believe__  
__A tragedy with__  
__More damage than a soul should see__  
__And do I try to change him?__  
__So hard not to blame him__  
__Hold on tight__  
__Hold on tight___

_Oh 'cause I don't know__  
__I don't know what he's after__  
__But he's so beautiful__  
__Such a beautiful disaster__  
__And if I could hold on__  
__Through the tears and the laughter__  
__Would it be beautiful?__  
__Or just a beautiful disaster___

_I'm longing for love and the logical__  
__But he's only happy hysterical__  
__I'm waiting for some kind of miracle__  
__Waited so long__  
__So long___

_He's soft to the touch__  
__But frayed at the end he breaks__  
__He's never enough__  
__And still he's more than I can take___

_Oh 'cause I don't know__  
__I don't know what he's after__  
__But he's so beautiful__  
__Such a beautiful disaster__  
__And if I could hold on__  
__Through the tears and the laughter__  
__Would it be beautiful?__  
__Or just a beautiful disaster___

_He's beautiful__  
__Such a beautiful disaster_

**I will be working on this throughout the semester…I won't be able to update nearly as much as I used to but when I get a free moment here and there I will : ) Let me know what you think!**


	2. A New Beginning

_Background: For the past two seasons the NHL has been on strike. Players were in an uproar regarding new regulations, rules and pay cuts so they refused to play until order was restored. Most of the players ended up quitting the league for good or retiring due to failing health or old age. With all the changes occurring in the NHL the league decided to revamp every team. Now the next generation of players must rise to the challenge and try to excel in one of the most intense and dangerous sports in the United States. Team owners recruited all new players to the league, most of whom are the children of players long since retired. The most anticipated season the NHL has ever faced is about to be underway…and already tensions and personal vendettas are beginning to rear their ugly heads…_

"Mom!" screamed a young woman as she burst through the doors of a rather large condo in downtown Washington D.C., "MOM! DAD!"

Instantly a rather attractive looking man in his early forties emerged from the living room, his eyes wide with concern as he rushed over to the young woman.

"Sammy, what's wrong?" he asked as he grabbed onto her shoulders, "What is it?"

"Nothing's wrong!" exclaimed the young woman as she gasped for air, "Where's Mom? I want to tell you both!"

"I'm right here," said an older woman from the top of the stairs who looked like a carbon-copy of the younger woman down below, "What is it honey?"

"I made it!" announced Samantha, her green eyes sparkling with happiness, "I'm gonna be the captain of the Washington Capitals!"

The man gaped in astonishment as he glanced between his daughter and his wife, "That's my baby girl!" he roared as he picked her up and twirled her around in the air.

"Oh sweetheart!" exclaimed the older woman, "That's wonderful! I'm so proud of you!"

"I'll make you guys even prouder one day," promised Samantha, "I'm gonna be as good as you guys were when you played!"

"No, you'll be better," said her dad with a wide, excited grin on his face, "I know you will."

…

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a similar situation was beginning to unfold. Brayden rushed into his rather lavish house, screaming at the top of his lungs as he burst through the doors. His dark brown hair was a disheveled mess and his blue eyes flashed with barely suppressed excitement as he ran down the long hallway.

"I'm gonna be the captain of the Penguins!" he shouted as loud as he could, his heart hammering with excitement.

A rather handsome looking, middle-aged man rose from his leather arm-chair with a confident smile on his face. He approached his son and gave him a hug as he congratulated him.

"I told you that you'd pull it off," he said as he patted his son on the back, "Now it's time to carry on the family legacy. You remember all that I've taught you?"

Brayden rolled his eyes and sighed, "Dad…can't we just be happy that I got this position? I mean…come on…isn't the feud getting a little old by now?"

Brayden flinched when he saw his dad's eyes flash in anger. His father forced himself to calm down and take a deep breath before he spoke.

"You know how I feel about _them_," he said, his voice tinged with loathing, "Just remember what I've told you…you'll run into them soon enough. I've taught you well. I know I can count on you to do what you're meant to do."

Brayden frowned a little at that but nodded. He wasn't completely sold out on his father's long-time bitter rivalry but he didn't want to let him down. He'd do what he had to do in order to make his father proud…even if he didn't like it or agree with it one little bit…

…

All across America, the NHL's newly revamped teams were beginning to gather in their home practice arenas for the first time in over two years. Introductions were made, jerseys were passed out and practices began as they prepared to start the NHL back up.

In D.C. the new Capitals players filed into the locker room. Most of them were young kids between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. Several of the players were pleasantly surprised to find that they already knew half of their team.

"Victor?" asked Samantha as she walked into the locker room, "Victor Varlamov? No way!"

"Sammy!" shouted Victor as he ran over to give her a hug, "What are you doing here?"

Samantha laughed, "I'm the captain! What are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm starting goal tender!" replied Victor with an excited grin, "This is freaking awesome! Did you see the other guys? Adrian Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin, Nikolai Semin, Nathan Bradley and Anthony Perreault are all here too!"

Samantha's brilliant green eyes grew wide with astonishment. All of their parents were very close friends who had played on the Washington Capitals team several years ago. The Capitals team in those days was legendary. They had brought home the only Stanley Cup that the team had ever won…and they had defeated their long-time rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"This is too freaking cool," said Adrian Backstrom as he approached them, "Dude our parents are going to flip when they realize we all got chosen for this!"

"But did you hear the other news?" said Nathan Bradley as he joined the happy group, "The Penguins did the same thing…they hired the original player's kids too. Crosby and Malkin's boys are on their team."

Sam rolled her eyes, "Whatever don't worry about them. I'm sure we can all put the past behind us by now. I mean that fight wasn't even really our fight to begin with. Those days are long gone…granted we'll still kick their ass in the first game but yeah the personal stuff is over."

"You are so much like your mother it's scary," laughed Coach Bruce Boudreau as he sauntered into the locker room.

Despite the immense changes to the team and the NHL in general, the Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Capitals, had chosen to keep Coach Boudreau on the payroll. He was the only coach who had ever been able to lead the team to win a Stanley Cup and further more the players had all loved him dearly. It would have been a mistake to fire a man like that.

Samantha smiled broadly at that. She was incredibly proud to be the daughter of Mike Green and Kristine Alvarez and always considered it the highest compliment imaginable to be compared to her mother. She looked just like Kristine with long, dark, brown hair and startling green eyes and a lean body that was built for speed. More than that, she had skills unlike many of her fellow hockey players which were a combination of good genes and long hours of hard, intense practice.

Samantha had chosen to take on her mother's last name since Kristine kept her maiden name when she married Mike Green. Kristine and Mike had figured that it would be better that way for the fans since most of them already owned "Alvarez" jerseys and t-shirts. Samantha chose to keep her mother's last name and used "Green" as her middle name. She slipped on her captain's jersey with "Alvarez" emblazoned on the back and smiled with pure joy. Nothing had ever felt so right before in her life. This was what she was _born _to do…and she couldn't wait to get started.

…

**Please Review!**


	3. Heritage

**Had a bit of free time today so I decided to update : ) Enjoy!**

_One week later…_

Early in the morning Samantha pulled into the Kettler Iceplex parking garage and made her way into the rink. She was about an hour early for practice but she couldn't wait any longer. She had been at home, driving her parents insane as she paced excitedly throughout their house. She smiled a little to herself as she thought about how nice it was going to be when she finally moved into the new apartment she had purchased downtown. Most of the new Capitals players had purchased homes in the new apartment complex about five miles from Kettler and they were all going to be moving into them within the next week.

Samantha slipped into the locker room and quickly changed into her warm-up gear. She laced up her skates and then headed out into the ice rink. She froze for a moment when she heard the sound of someone's skates slicing through the fresh sheet of ice. She peered around the corner and looked out onto the ice. A young, attractive-looking man was skating suicides on the ice, warming up his muscles and testing out what looked like a brand new pair of skates. Samantha frowned at him as she took to the ice herself. No one was supposed to be out here but the Capitals…the only other people allowed on this rink today were the Pittsburgh Penguins for their practice but that wasn't until noon.

The young man stopped skating when he glanced up and caught sight of Samantha. He waited patiently as she skated over to him, her eyes narrowed with suspicion as she neared him.

"Who are you and why are you on my rink?"

The young man sneered at that, "_Your_ rink? Sorry I didn't know you owned it."

Samantha felt a twinge of annoyance at the arrogant tone in the young man's voice, "My _team's_ rink," she corrected herself, "Our practice starts in an hour…who are you and why are you on _our_ rink?"

The young man sighed and rolled his eyes, "I'm Brayden Crosby…captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins and I'm out here early to warm up my muscles a bit. Now, who are you?"

Samantha felt herself freeze up at the sound of the young man's last name. Instantly she noted the deep brown eyes, the arrogant sneer, the cheek bones and jaw line…this was Sidney Crosby's son. Her mind flashed back to when her parents, Mike Green and Kristine Alvarez, had told her the stories about Crosby and his Penguins and what they had nearly done to their beloved team. She felt an instant flash of anger toward the new Penguin's captain and narrowed her eyes at him as she replied.

"Samantha Alvarez," she said, with her head tilted up in pride, "Daughter of Mike Green and Kristine Alvarez and captain of the Washington Capitals."

This time it was Brayden's turn to look shocked. His eyes grew round with surprise as he took a hesitant step back and studied her. She was nearly a mirror image of her mother with vivid green eyes, long brown hair and high cheek-bones but she had her father's stubbornness in her eyes and his strong jaw.

"Oh…guess this is sort of your rink then," muttered Brayden as he glanced away, "I, uh…I'll just leave, don't worry about it."

Samantha raised an eyebrow in surprise as she watched the young Penguin's captain skate off to the edge of the rink. He looked confused almost…as if he wasn't sure what to do or say. She frowned a little when she noted a slight sad note in the young man's brown eyes. Sighing, Samantha called out to the young man:

"Hey…it's okay. You can stay…just make sure you're outta here before my team gets in."

Brayden turned around and gave her a surprised look, "You sure?"

Samantha hesitated, wondering if she was making a good decision or not. She nodded carefully, eyeing the young Penguin's captain suspiciously as he flashed her a charming smile and rejoined her on the ice.

"So you wanna shoot some pucks or something?" he asked good-naturedly.

Samantha looked at Brayden as if he had grown another head. How could this kid be so nonchalant about this situation? Shouldn't he be skating on the other side of the rink as far away from her as possible?

"Um…I'm not sure that's a good idea," she said hesitantly.

Brayden's face fell instantly at her quick rejection, "Oh…yeah the whole Capitals verses Penguins crap," he muttered, looking rather annoyed as he rolled his eyes.

Samantha raised an eyebrow at that, "Well you gotta admit…considering who your parents are and who my parents are…we weren't really born to be friends if you know what I mean."

Brayden sneered, "Who cares? It's not like we did anything…all that shit that happened was long before we were even born. Why should we let it bother us now?"

Samantha narrowed her eyes at Brayden Crosby suspiciously. Her parents had told her all the stories about the Penguins and their conniving, manipulative ways. They were not above lying to get what they wanted and Sidney Crosby was by far the worst of them all. Somehow the very thought of trusting his son sent a nervous shiver down Samantha's spine.

"I don't know, Brayden," she said slowly as she took in his pleading deep-brown eyes, "This might not end well…and the season hasn't even started yet. I don't really want to screw over my team before the first game."

Brayden frowned at that, "I'm not going to ask you for your team's secrets, or plays or rosters or whatever the hell else. I don't care…I just want to play hockey. That's what I was born to do…I don't care about the past, I don't care about what my father thinks about you guys…this is my life and I'm going to live it the way I want to."

Samantha felt moved by the passion in the young man's voice. His eyes were hard with determination and she could tell that he had fought this battle before with his father. She guessed it was a sensitive subject in the Crosby household.

With a sigh, Samantha felt herself relent, "Okay but just for a little while…go grab some sticks and I'll get the pucks."

…

"Damn girl!" shouted Brayden as he clocked Samantha's slapshot, "One hundred and four! You really are the daughter of champions!"

Samantha couldn't help but laugh at that, "Well your slapshot is just as good as mine so I guess you've got pretty good genes too."

Brayden forced a tight smile at that and brushed off her comment, "Yeah I guess…want to work on some breakaway drills?"

Samantha noted his eagerness to drop the subject of his parents. While she loved talking about her legendary mother and father it seemed like Brayden wanted to talk about anything but his family. She frowned a little at that as she snatched up a puck and sent it sailing over in his direction. She wondered silently to herself why he wasn't proud of his heritage…

…

"Yo! Sammy!"

"Shit!" hissed Samantha under her breath as she recognized the voice of Adrian Backstrom.

Brayden cursed under his breath as he glanced nervously over where Adrian Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin II were skating out onto the ice. They had lost track of time and forgotten to clear the ice before the team arrived.

"Who's this?" asked Alex as he skated around Brayden, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Samantha gave Brayden a nervous and apologetic look as she replied, "Uh, this is Brayden Crosby…he's the captain of the Penguins. He was here early and we just skated around for a bit, but he's leaving now."

Brayden nodded quickly, "Um, yeah…yeah I'm just heading out."

"You bet your ass you are!" snarled Adrian Backstrom as he glowered at Brayden, "Your father nearly screwed my dad over!"

"Knock it off!" snapped Samantha before things got any more out of control, "Come on guys cool it! This isn't Sidney Crosby this is his _son_."

"Your point?" asked Anthony Perreault as he and the rest of the team filtered out onto the ice, "He's still a Crosby."

"Yeah and don't think for one second his daddy didn't tell him about us," sneered Nikolai Semin as he skated past, "I bet he told him to start spying on us…that's why you're here isn't it?"

Brayden glanced away, shaking his head in protest, "No…no it's not like that. Those days are over."

"Right," sneered Alex Ovechkin II as he exchanged a disbelieving look with Anthony Perreault.

"Okay everyone just settle down," said Samantha, trying to be diplomatic, "Brayden thank you for warming up with me. You might want to head out now though. I have to lead practice and the boys are being a bit testy today," she added as she gave them all a sharp warning glance.

Brayden nodded, "Yeah, I'll, um…I'll catch you some other time."

Samantha nodded as she watched him skate off of the rink. She sighed wearily as she turned around and prepared for the onslaught from her teammates. They were all giving her questioning and accusing looks as they waited for her to explain herself.

"Guys, come on," she said with a sigh, "I know he's Sidney Crosby's son…but that doesn't mean anything. He may not be anything like him!"

"He looks just like him," sneered Adrian Backstrom, his blue eyes flashing with anger, "That's enough for me."

Samantha rolled her eyes at her best friend, "Right, like looks determine who you are as a person. Let's just drop this and start practicing okay? We've got a lot of work to do before the game tonight."

The team grudgingly agreed with their new captain and began to line up to skate suicides. Samantha sighed wearily as she watched them…things were already off to a rocky start and the first game of the season hadn't even begun…

…

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	4. Return to the NHL

Samantha felt her heart pound anxiously in her chest as she drove up to the Verizon Center and prepared to go inside. Tonight was the first game that any team in the NHL had played in two years…and it was her first as captain. This game could very well set the pace for the rest of the season. More than that, it was also against the Capital's bitter, long-time rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Samantha tensed up when she saw the Penguin's bus arrive and watched as the players filtered out in the underground garage. She made eye-contact with Brayden Crosby and felt her heart skip a beat. He gave her a smile and a wave and she hesitantly returned the greeting. She wondered if he had said anything to his team about their little encounter on the practice rink that morning…

…

"I swear dude you're going to find yourself way in over your head if you don't knock that shit out," warned Alik Malkin as he gave his best friend a warning glare after catching him waving at the Capital's captain.

Brayden rolled his eyes at Alik. The two had been best friends their whole lives. They grew up in the same neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and their parents had hung out all the time. Naturally they set up play dates for the two young boys and soon had them playing peewee hockey together. They were just like brothers and things hadn't changed at all over time.

"Oh lighten up, Alik. She's really not that bad…"

"Dude, she's a Capital," protested Alik, "She's the daughter of Mike Green and Kristine Alvarez…what more do you want? She was born bad."

"You know I really think we should just let all that crap go," muttered Brayden, "It was between our parents not us."

"Maybe we should all just keep our heads in the game?" suggested Andrew Cooke, "We can't afford to get unfocused now. We can deal with this some other time…you know, when we're not playing the Capitals?"

Alik muttered something unintelligible under his breath as he followed the rest of the team into their locker room. Brayden frowned at his best friend. He just didn't understand why this silly rivalry was still such a big issue. In his mind it was immature and needed to end now. He silently decided to talk to Samantha Alvarez about it at some point. Perhaps between the two of them they might be able to put an end to this nonsense once and for all…

…

"You ready for this?" asked Anthony Perreault as he patted the back of Samantha's leg with his hockey stick.

Samantha nodded as she shifted her weight back and forth on her skates as her team lined up in the tunnel and prepared to take to the ice. Her jaw was tight with tension as she fidgeted nervously with her stick. Adrian Backstrom walked up and patted her on the shoulder.

"Take it easy there, Captain," he said as he gave her an encouraging smile, "Loosen up…it'll be alright. We've been preparing for this for months and we couldn't ask for a better captain going into this game. We've got your back, Alvarez."

The rest of the team shouted out their agreement and slapped their sticks on the ground. Samantha felt a wave of confidence wash over her as she glanced behind her at her team. They were all smiling and cheering excitedly as they waited for their cue to take to the ice. This was her team…this was their home ice…and this was their night to show the world who they are…

…

Brayden Crosby led the Penguins out onto the ice a few seconds before the Capitals emerged from their side of the rink. He glanced over and watched as the young home team roared out onto the ice amongst a loud, cheering sea of red in the stands. He couldn't help but look for Samantha. He saw her number eighty-eight jersey and smiled to himself as he watched her shout encouraging comments to her teammates as they began warm up.

"Stop mooning over the Capital's captain and start getting the team ready," hissed Alik Malkin.

Brayden shot a glare at his friend and rolled his eyes in annoyance, "You seriously need to lighten up Alik…you were so much more fun in the junior leagues."

Alik couldn't help but smirk at that, "Yeah well someone has to grow up if you won't," he retorted jokingly as he punched Brayden in the arm.

Brayden skated away from his friend's "attack" and began to skate laps around the Penguins' half of the rink to warm up his muscles. He glanced over at the Capitals half of the rink and smiled when he saw that Samantha was looking over at him. He laughed when she looked away quickly and pretended not to be interested in whatever he was doing.

…

Nikolai Semin cast another glare in Brayden's direction before he turned to Samantha, "If that punk checks you out one more time I'll have his ass mounted on my wall."

"Thanks for the lovely visual image," grimaced Samantha as she gave her good friend a disgusted look.

"I'm not kidding…that Crosby punk better keep his eyes on the puck and not on you."

"So what if he is looking at me?" retorted Samantha, "Since when did you go all 'big brother' and get all protective?"

"Since Sidney Crosby's son took a disturbing interest in you," retorted Nikolai indignantly.

"Who cares whose son he is?" snapped Samantha, "That doesn't mean a damn thing!"

"Okay, knock it off," said Alex Ovechkin II as he skated between the two feuding friends, "We can talk about it later, alright? Come on, let's just get our heads in this game, okay?"

Samantha nodded curtly and skated off toward center ice as the ref blew the whistle and the buzzer sounded, announcing the start of the first period of the first NHL game in over two years. Although Samantha wasn't sure how she felt about the young, attractive Penguins' captain she did feel a need to defend him when it came to the old rivalry. First of all she found the rivalry repulsive and old. It should have ended years ago when her parents and Sidney Crosby left the league. Second of all she didn't believe in judging someone for who their parents were. That was just stupid in her mind.

But Samantha didn't have any more time to contemplate her dilemma. The referee was waiting and the fans were chanting "C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS" at the top of their lungs. It was time to start the first game of the NHL season…

…

"Come on Nathan!" shouted Samantha from the bench, "Check him! Hit him harder!"

The Capitals were down by one in the third period and things were getting dicey. The Penguins' offense was on fire and they were moving down the ice with incredible speed. They sent the Capitals defense reeling as they charged down the middle of the rink.

Victor Varlamov was forced to make a quick save and shoved the puck away from his zone.

"Come on guys give me a little defense back here!" he cried out in desperation as he stopped another shot from Brayden Crosby.

"Switch it up!" roared Coach Boudreau, his face flushed with frustration as he watched the timer on the scoreboard quickly winding down.

With two minutes left in the game, Samantha's line took to the ice. Nikolai Semin snatched up the puck immediately and sent a quick pass up to Alex Ovechkin II. Alex took it down the ice and sent a quick wrister top shelf, leaping into the glass with excitement as the buzzer sounded. The crowd erupted with cheering as the Capitals tied up the game. Samantha exchanged an excited hug with Alex and congratulated the rest of her line.

"Alright boys! One more! Just one more! Let's send these Pens back where they belong!" she shouted excitedly.

With new found confidence and excitement the Capitals prepared for what was to be the final face off of the game. Samantha lined up for the faceoff and found herself across from Alik Malkin. The young forward glowered at her through slitted eyes as he prepared for the puck to drop. Samantha just smiled coyly back at the foul-tempered Penguin's forward and deftly won the faceoff.

The puck slid back to a waiting Adrian Backstrom. Adrian moved deftly to the side, a mirror image of his father as he took off down the ice. His fast-moving skates breezed past the Penguin's defensive line as he slid the puck across to Samantha who was waiting quietly by the net, completely unnoticed and under the Penguins' radar. She sent a slapper right through the five-hole of Landon Fleury and leapt into the air with excitement as the buzzer sounded, ending the third period.

The Capitals bench cleared as the team raced over to their captain to congratulate her on the winning goal. Samantha was overcome by the intense excitement in the air as she listened to the chanting and screaming fans. She let out a cry of surprise as she felt herself being lifted up into the air. Nikolai Semin and Alex Ovechkin II lifted her onto their shoulders and carried her back to the bench. Samantha laughed loudly as she lifted her stick up into the air in victory. In that moment she felt like she was on top of the world…nothing could stop her or her team…nothing at all…

…

The Capitals filtered out into the underground garage, cheering and screaming as they continued to celebrate their first victory of the season. Nikolai and Adrian were dancing around and acting ridiculous as they made their way to their cars.

Samantha laughed at the spectacle and watched the two players goof off. Just then, the door opened and the Pittsburgh Penguins filed out into the parking garage, their heads hanging in defeat as they slowly trudged toward their bus. Samantha frowned at them, feeling a twinge of sympathy as she saw Alik Malkin pat Brayden Crosby sympathetically on the back. Brayden gave his friend a sad smile as he turned and looked over at the celebrating Capitals players. He froze when he made eye-contact with Samantha.

Sam gave him a sad little smile and a quick wave. He returned the gesture, hesitating before he made his way over to her. Brayden heard the grumbles from his team as he walked away from them. Alik sneered in disgust at the sight and turned away.

"Hey, great game tonight," said Brayden as he approached Samantha, "You guys played hard."

Sam nodded, "Yeah so did you and your team. I have a feeling it won't be the last time either. You guys are gonna be quite a challenge to my team."

Brayden smirked at that, "You can count on that."

Sam smiled and Brayden felt his heart skip a beat at the sight. Something about this girl unnerved him…and in a good way too. He found most girls his age to be rather boring and grew tired of them quickly, but not Samantha Alvarez. She had an allure about her that was different from any other girl he had ever known.

"Is there a problem?" growled Adrian Backstrom as he walked up next to Samantha and glared at Brayden.

Samantha sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation, "No, Adrian…Brayden was just congratulating us on the win. Lay off."

"It's okay," said Brayden as he took a step back, "I should be heading out anyway. I'll catch you in a couple weeks when we play on my ice."

Sam smiled, "Sounds good…I'll see you then."

The Capitals watched as Brayden and the Penguins climbed onto their bus and pulled out of the parking garage. Alex Ovechkin II and snickered and rolled his eyes.

"I don't know what you see in that Crosby kid," he muttered, "His father is a total douche."

Samantha opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it. She'd had this battle with her team enough for one night.

"Let's just drop it for now, okay?" she asked, "Come on…we won our first game of the season. Let's just go celebrate."

"I completely agree!" announced an excited-looking Victor Varlamov, "Last one to the bar buys the first round!"

Samantha laughed as she watched her team scramble for their cars and make a bee-line for the exit. For now the issue of Brayden Crosby would be put away for another day…tonight she and her boys were going to celebrate.

…

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	5. Girl Fight

**I apologize for the long wait! I've been swamped with school stuff but here is the next chapter! Thanks so much for reading!**

Samantha sat outside the Kettler Iceplex and watched the sun slowly climb over the horizon. It had been a week since the Capitals had begun the NHL season with a victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins…but that had been the only victory they'd had so far. They had lost the past two games against the Philadelphia Flyers and the Atlanta Thrashers.

Samantha slapped her stick on the asphalt in frustration. She had stayed up all night trying to figure out what was wrong…what they'd done differently against the Pens that they hadn't done with the Flyers or the Thrashers. A nagging feeling of guilt hit Samantha as she contemplated what had been happening in the locker room lately. The team had been edgy since the Penguins game when they noticed the interactions between Samantha and Sidney Crosby's son, Brayden Crosby. She was beginning to feel like they had stopped trusting her leadership. The thought alone infuriated her. Brayden wasn't his father and further more nothing had happened between them, but even if it had it shouldn't change her team's feelings towards her being their captain.

"What in the world are you doing out here?"

Samantha jumped in surprise and glanced up to see Adrian Backstrom gazing down at her with a confused look on his face. She stood up quickly and straightened out her shirt.

"Um, hey…I just…had trouble sleeping," she stammered out, not making eye-contact with Adrian.

Adrian raised an eyebrow, "So you came to Kettler?"

Samantha shrugged, "Figured I'd get an early warm-up…clear my head before the rest of the team gets here."

Adrian frowned as he studied his weary captain's face, "Look…those losses weren't your fault. We all screwed up this week."

"But it's my job to keep up the morale," snapped Samantha, "It's my job to lead this team and my job to make sure things go smoothly and they aren't. And don't think for two seconds I don't know why they aren't…I'm not blind and I'm not deaf. I see the side-glances and hear the snide comments…it's because of me and Brayden Crosby. The team doesn't trust me as captain anymore."

Adrian glanced away, guilt written all over his face, "We're all just getting used to playing with one another, Sam…"

"Don't patronize me Adrian," said Samantha curtly, "I'm not stupid…I know what's being said when I'm not around. Maybe I should step down as captain…pass it off to Ovie Jr. or something."

"Oh don't be like that," said Adrian, getting a little annoyed, "Things will get better…just stay away from the Crosby kid and I'm sure the guys will get over it."

Samantha sneered, "We play them in two days in Pittsburgh, Adrian."

"I know…so stay away from him. Show him you aren't interested and things will get better. It'll be a sign to the rest of the team that you know where your loyalties lie."

Samantha looked sharply over at Adrian, "They should know where my loyalties lie regardless of who I choose to hang out with."

Adrian sighed, "God you're so stubborn!" he said as he slapped her butt with his stick.

Samantha rolled her eyes as she followed Adrian into the ice rink. She frowned as she wondered what to do once they reached Pittsburgh. Regardless of whatever path she chose, she knew that was destined to face opposition…

…

"I hate the Rangers," sneered Nikolai Semin as he suited up in the locker room of the Verizon Center that evening, "Sean Avery's daughter is on that team and I swear the genes made a direct transfer."

Nathan Bradley laughed at that, "Yeah Jessica Avery is definitely not my favorite person in the world."

"Hey, maybe Samantha could fight her!" suggested Anthony Perreault, "Then we'd have the first NHL catfight! It'd be historic!"

Samantha rolled her eyes as her team laughed hysterically at the thought. Despite their harassment of her, she was pleased to see them all in good spirits. It was a nice change of pace. She just prayed things stayed like this in two days when they faced the Penguins on their rink in Pittsburgh.

"Alright guys, let's do this!" shouted Coach Boudreau as he came into the locker room, "Let's send the Rangers packing!"

The Capitals cheered as they pumped themselves up for the game and began to file out toward the rink. Samantha led the charge as the Capitals spilled out onto the ice with the roar of the Sea of Red cheering them on…

…

Early in the first period the Capitals drew first blood. On a quick shift with Nikolai Semin, Anthony Perreault, Nathan Bradley, Adrian Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin II, Nikolai sent the puck top shelf, outsmarting the Rangers' goalie and putting one on the board for his team.

Samantha screamed loudly from the bench as she congratulated her team. This was the powerful start her boys needed to get this game going. With sixteen minutes left in the first they still had a lot of ground to cover, but scoring the first goal would set the pace for the rest of the game.

Later in the first period, Samantha took to the ice with Alex Ovechkin II and Adrian Backstrom. She quickly snatched up the puck nearly at the same time her skates hit he ice and sent a sprawling pass up to a waiting Adrian Backstrom. Michael Sloan, son of Tyler Sloan, raced up the ice with Adrian Backstrom and snatched up the pass. He sent a shot toward the Rangers' net and cursed when their goalie stopped it with his stick.

Jessica Avery, daughter of Sean Avery of the Rangers, grabbed the rebound and began racing down the ice toward the Capitals end of the rink. Samantha positioned herself in Jessica's path and matched the quick-footed Ranger pace for pace. Jessica snarled in annoyance at Samantha, her bright blue eyes meeting Samantha's carefully leveled green ones. Samantha watched Jessica's every move and waited for the moment to strike. She saw her chance and shot her stick out. The blade smacked Jessica's, knocking the puck away from the advancing Rangers' forward and out of her reach. Alex Ovechkin II picked up the puck and raced back down the ice.

Jessica cursed Samantha loudly and shoved her roughly down onto the ice. Samantha grunted from the impact as she felt her head smack the ice. She thanked God her helmet was secure on her head as she blinked away the bright dots of light that crowded her vision. Shaking her head, Samantha stood up to face Jessica.

"Bitch," snarled Jessica, "Stay the hell away from me!"

"Maybe if you were as good at skating as you are running your mouth you wouldn't have any problems getting around me," retorted Samantha as she cast a warning glare in Jessica's direction.

Jessica whirled around to face Samantha, her blue eyes blazing with anger. She dropped her gloves and ripped off her helmet, slamming it down onto the ice.

Samantha cursed as she realized she would have no choice but to fight. Turning down a fight once the gloves were dropped would be seen as a weak, cowardly move and Samantha refused to have that reputation in the NHL. She dropped her gloves and helmet and began to advance on the circling Jessica Avery.

"GIRL FIGHT!" roared Anthony Perreault in excitement as he glanced over to see what was going on.

Instantly the refs began to blow their whistles and the players all froze to watch the battle between their two team captains.

Jessica struck first but Samantha saw it coming a mile away. She ducked deftly out of the way and countered with a right hook to the side of Jessica's head. Jessica's head snapped back and she stumbled to the ice from the impact of Samantha's punch. The referees swooped in and separated the sparring females. Jessica was bleeding from a cut on her eyebrow and Samantha was rubbing her sore knuckles as the refs lead them to their separate penalty boxes.

Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals were going wild. The fans cheered their captain as she sat down in the penalty box. Samantha couldn't help but laugh when she saw her teammates roaring with laughter and slapping their sticks on the ice and the boards, congratulating her on an epic victory in her first NHL battle. The fans began to chant "Alvarez" at the top of their lungs and Sam laughed at the deafening roar that filled the Capitals arena. This was the kind of drive her team needed…and besides that…it was nice to put Avery's daughter in her place…

…

The end of the third period marked the Capitals second win of the season. They had destroyed the Rangers four to zero and the team was ecstatic. Samantha found herself bombarded in the locker room by her teammates, all of them clamoring about the "girl fight" in the first period.

"Jessica Avery thinks she's all big and bad," laughed Anthony Perreault, "Then Sam throws one punch and she's down for the count! Suck on that Avery!"

The team cheered loudly as they played their traditional victory song: Beat That Beat Up. Samantha laughed as they all began to fist-pump and dance around like a bunch of kids. The excitement and happiness that filled the locker room was something Samantha was beginning to fear she wouldn't experience anytime soon. She just prayed that it lasted through their game with Pittsburgh.

Just thinking about the game against the Penguins sobered Samantha up immediately. She still didn't know what she would do when she saw Brayden Crosby again.

"Whoa, what's with the long face?" asked Adrian Backstrom as he patted Samantha on the back, "You just destroyed the Rangers' captain and had a shut-out victory!"

Samantha forced a smile and nodded, "Yeah I know…I guess I'm just stressing about the Penguins game in a couple days."

Adrian rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, lighten up. We can stress about that tomorrow, but tonight we party!"

Alex Ovechkin II cheered loudly at that as the team scrambled to put away their gear and head to the parking garage. If there was anything they loved more than winning it was the after-game celebrations. Samantha forced herself to put the issue of Brayden Crosby behind her for now. Adrian was right…tonight was a night to celebrate not to stress about a game in the future. With a sigh, Samantha forced the issue to the back of her mind and focused on her main objective for the night: partying it up with the Washington Capitals in downtown D.C….

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